<blockquote>
<p>Pro tip: choosing “password” as your
online password is not a good idea. In
fact, unless you’re hoping to be an
easy target for hackers, it’s the
worst password you can possibly
choose.</p>
<p>“Password” ranks first on password
management application provider
SplashData’s annual list of worst
internet passwords, which are ordered
by how common they are. (“Passw0rd”,
with a numeral zero, isn’t much
smarter, ranking 18th on the list.)
Advertisement: Story continues below</p>
<p>The list is somewhat predictable:
sequences of adjacent numbers or
letters on the keyboard, such as
“qwerty” and “123456,” and popular
names, such as “ashley” and “michael”,
all are common choices. Other common
choices, such as “monkey” and
“shadow”, are harder to explain.</p>
<p>As some websites have begun to require
passwords to include both numbers and
letters, it makes sense varied
choices, such as “abc123″ and
“trustno1”, are popular choices.</p>
<p>SplashData created the rankings based
on millions of stolen passwords posted
online by hackers. Here is the
complete list:</p>
<pre><code>1. password
2. 123456
3.12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football
</code></pre>
<p>SplashData CEO Morgan Slain urges
businesses and consumers using any
password on the list to change them
immediately.</p>
<p>“Hackers can easily break into many
accounts just by repeatedly trying
common passwords,” Slain says. “Even
though people are encouraged to select
secure, strong passwords, many people
continue to choose weak, easy-to-guess
ones, placing themselves at risk from
fraud and identity theft.” </p>
<p>The company provided some tips for
choosing secure passwords in a
statement:</p>
<pre><code>1. Vary different types of characters in your passwords; include
</code></pre>
<p>numbers, letters and special
characters when possible.
2. Choose passwords of eight characters or more. Separate short
words with spaces or underscores.
3. Don’t use the same password and username combination for multiple
websites. Use an online password
manager to keep track of your
different accounts.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/security/revealed-the-worst-passwords-of-2011-20111121-1npr1.html#ixzz1eHxwbeBU</p>